


Flowers in the Rain

by hibiren



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Danger, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, Rescue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5281208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily finds herself in an unfamiliar place, like something out of a dream, feeling like she'd been asleep for too long in this strange world. She finds her father in this place as well, and the two proceed together toward whatever answers they can reach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strange, Dream World

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a roleplay my bf and I had about “oh, what if Lily was in STEM with Sebastian?” and so I finally decided to write it all down (from what I remember haha). Also, this takes place in the sort of beginning-midpoint of where the gameplay was? In kind of in an off-to-the-side imaginary tangential place. There will be a few plot twists so you have been warned c;

When Lily woke up, she was on the floor somewhere in a dusty old warehouse. Sunlight crept into the room through cracks in the windows above her head. She sat up, brushing some dirt off of her pants. There was a feeling lingering in the back of her head like she’d been asleep for a very long time. Was this some sort of dream? The last thing she remembered was being at home, with her babysitter… but that was so long ago… other things had happened, she just couldn’t remember anything past that last night at home. A few thoughts surfaced in her head that something bad had happened, but she didn’t know what. And everything felt too clear, too real to be a dream.

After looking around her for a few moments, she decided to look around. Standing, Lily carefully stepped across a few patches of broken glass and searched for a door or something that would lead her out of this strange place. The way her footsteps echoed through the building made her shiver. Even though it was daylight outside there was an eerie feeling hanging in the air that she couldn’t figure out. All she knew for sure was she wanted to get out of there. And maybe then she’d find people. Lily hoped with everything that she’d see her mom or dad… there was that strange feeling again, telling her that her mom was gone. But her dad… somewhere in her mind she knew, he was around here somewhere. So she made up her mind to start searching, starting with this strange abandoned warehouse.

“Daddy?” Lily called into the emptiness around her. “Dad…?”

She heard some rustling off in the near distance and smiled. Maybe if she was louder, he might hear. It had to be him, Lily knew it.

“Dad!”

She ran toward the noise, stepping quickly around a few scattered crates, until she heard a growl and froze in place. The rustling noises weren’t coming from her father looking for her, it was from… a zombie. Whatever was going on, she realized, it had to be a dream. Zombies weren’t real, they were just things you saw in scary movies and killed in video games. And sometimes ran into at haunted houses.

The creature stood with its back to Lily, hunched over, drool and blood trailing from its broken, unhinged jaw. A large spike protruded through one side of its head and came out the other. Lily caught sight of its dead stare and screamed. The creature turned its head more toward her and pointed one bony finger at her before beginning to charge in her direction, drawn to her by the sudden noise. Lily screamed again, running as fast as she could to get away from it. There were a few boxes ahead. She climbed quickly on top of them until she was mostly out of reach of the thing, knocking over some of the lighter crates to keep it from following her. There was a window by where she was perched and she pounded at the wall near the fragmented glass, hoping to alert someone that wasn’t undead. There had to be someone out there to hear what was going on, someone to help her.... She couldn’t do this alone.

“Someone! H-Help me! There’s… zombies in here! Please, help!”

This time, she heard something different. Footsteps. Real, human footsteps, and they were coming toward her from somewhere outside.

“I’m stuck and—ahh!” The creature had jumped up, clawing at the edge of the crate and made a swipe at her leg. Lily jumped up, trying to stay away from its bloody, peeling hands, when she got an idea. The thing tried to grab at the side of the box to pull itself up and Lily stepped on its fingers as hard as she could. The zombie hissed and pounded its head angrily against the crate. Caught up in the moment, she stuck her tongue out at it and when it growled again, she resumed her retreat against the window, body pressed flat against the wall.

The thing managed to get a grip on the crate and began to pull itself up, when suddenly there was a loud bang and the back of its head exploded in a spray of red. Lily screamed again at the unexpected noise, flattening herself even more against the wall as the body of the creature fell to the ground beneath her perch. Someone shot it.

“Hey, are you alright? This is no place for a ki—oh my god.” The one who had saved her spoke up as he came into view, since he had been hiding behind a doorway further back to avoid being seen. It surprised Lily to find out that the one who saved her was her father. He looked a lot more ragged, and maybe a little older than she’d have liked to remember. Lily watched Sebastian's eyes widen in complete shock as he realized the one he saved was his daughter. The last person he'd expected to see even in this crazy place.

“Daddy?”

“Lily, what the f—what are you doing here? Y-You’re supposed to be d—I thought… oh, Lily…” the words spilled from her father’s lips in disbelief. As if she’d been asleep for several years, or something, he acted like she fell off the face of the earth. Had she? Was this the world she lived in now? This messed-up terrifying new world?

Sebastian ran over to the crate, holding out his arms to help her down. She took his hands and Sebastian helped her gently to the ground. When her leg hit the floor, she winced. That creature, when it grabbed at her leg, managed to leave a good sized scratch on it, she just hadn’t realized until now. But for the moment, Sebastian held her close, body trembling as he tried to hold back sobs.

Lily smiled and hugged him back. “Dad, it’s just me. You act like I’ve been gone forever.”

“But you’ve… you’ve grown up, Lily, you’re so beautiful… I don’t know—I don’t know if this is a dream, or something, but I can see you here…” Sebastian looked down at her, emotions whirling in his mind. It was as if time had carried on naturally since the incident, as if nothing ever happened. She looked like she was eleven or so, her formerly short hazel ringlets now curled shoulder-length hair. And she was even more beautiful than he’d imagined she’d be when she got older. Sebastian was also just glad to have some way of seeing her, even if there was a high chance it was just some sort of illusion brought on by this strange place.

“What are you talking about?” Lily asked, bringing Sebastian out of his thoughts. “Grown up? I’m the same, right?”

“There was a fire, and you… you… they told me you died, I saw your—your body, and you were burned badly… there was a funeral, and…”

The small girl frowned, shrugged, and then shook her head in confusion. “But, I’m not dead. I’m right here. And so are you, so… this doesn’t make much sense does it? I have no idea what’s going on. There’s—things—here, that tried to attack me, but you saved me.” She spared a glance down at her leg, where a few thin drips of blood trailed down her ankle and stained her sock. Sebastian immediately turned his attention to it, fishing around in his pockets for a small roll of gauze.

“Your leg,” Sebastian said worriedly as he looked it over, “does it hurt?”

Lily shook her head but when Sebastian lightly prodded the injury she flinched. “Ow!”

“I’ll have to clean it... Who knows what kind of germs or infectious things that could get into it… Better to be safe than sorry, right?” He passed her a small smile. “It might sting, though, so bear with me. I promise I’ll make it quick.”

“Okay.” Lily nodded slowly, and Sebastian picked her up, carrying her over to a more hidden area of the warehouse. It would be best now to hide, but his daughter’s injuries had to be taken care of before anything else. He pulled out his flask and shook it around, hearing the quiet swish of liquid inside. There was just enough that he could use to help clean out her injury… even if that meant less for him to drink. But she was much more important than alcohol. That much was perfectly clear to him.

Sebastian uncapped the flask and leaned down to get a better view of the cut. It was still bleeding slightly. He peeled back Lily’s sock and carefully took a hold of her leg, lifting it up just enough that he could pour a trickle of alcohol onto the wound.

The moment the whiskey made contact with her skin, Lily closed her eyes tightly, face contorting in pain as she wriggled against Sebastian’s grip.

“I’m sorry, flower, I’m almost done,” Sebastian mumbled with sincerity, hoping his use of the long-lost nickname would bring her some sense of relief. The whiskey washed away most of the blood from the cut, which helped. After capping the flask again and pocketing it, Sebastian took the roll of gauze and wrapped some of it around Lily’s leg. When the cut was covered, he cut the gauze with a pocketknife he’d picked up some time earlier and tied off the thin fabric so it was secure. “There,” he added as he planted a soft kiss over the bandages. “Is that any better?”

Lily nodded shakily, tears hinting at the corners of her eyes. “…B-better…”

“That’s my girl. Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll keep you safe until we can find a place to rest.”

“Okay…”

Sebastian smiled before picking up Lily and cradling her in his arms, looking around to check for anymore unwelcome Haunted visitors before walking carefully out of the warehouse. If before he had no motivation to keep going on in this strange place, he did now. He chuckled softly to himself. Joseph would certainly be surprised to see Lily as well. If Sebastian hadn’t recognized her at first, he could only imagine how his partner would react to seeing him with what he might think is a strange little girl. He was thankful for this fateful encounter he’d had, but at the same time he couldn’t help but think something was planned. Why was she here? She seemed to be just as real as he was, or Joseph was…

A vision of machinery flashed in his mind’s eye. A strange bathtub contraption, with his daughter’s bandaged body placed inside of it… but what did it mean?


	2. Thoughts and Theories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian thinks he might have a better idea of what's going on. Even if that idea makes the thought of them being trapped in--wherever they were--a lot worse.

Sebastian walked for some time, thankful to no longer hear the telltale growls and staggering footsteps of any Haunted. That image in his mind still remained there, and as he walked he kept finding himself trying to figure out exactly what it meant.

Lily, in a bathtub. A white room. Her small body wrapped in gauze, hooked up to machines.

Maybe it was something he’d seen in a dream before. It was that kind of real: fuzzy, but had enough clarity that he knew he’d truly seen it in some way. It was too strong to be just a flash of strange thoughts.

The two reached a worn-out looking house and Sebastian listened intently before he stepped any closer, surprised when he heard nothing except the noises of the nearby forest. Lily still clung to Sebastian, and she was whimpering, but trying hard not to. Her leg had continued hurting even after Sebastian had bandaged it up, but it was mostly from the cut fighting to bleed and soak through the gauze.

“This looks good enough,” Sebastian muttered, walking inside the building and setting Lily down on the somewhat decent-looking sofa so she could rest her leg. She laid lethargically against the cushions, staring up at the ceiling, saying nothing. Sebastian sat down on the floor beside the couch, to watch over her.

“Lily?” he asked after a moment, reaching up to squeeze one of her hands reassuringly. “How are you feeling?”

She frowned and closed her eyes. “…better… but still scared… What if those things find us again?”

“I won’t let them hurt you anymore, sweetheart. I promise I’ll keep you safe.” It was horrific, that his daughter had to go through this hell with him. He still wasn’t even sure why or how she was here. Lily deserved much better than this. Maybe if he could figure out how he was put into this world, he could figure out how to take Lily with him.

Sebastian had memories of everything before he entered the world. Everything as far back as meeting Myra, and marrying her and having Lily, and then becoming partners with Joseph… Myra leaving… it was all still there. It wasn’t like he had died. He still had everything. But… Lily, she had died. Sebastian was sure of it.

As much as it hurt, he went to the funeral and burial because Myra was nowhere to be seen. She showed up for the first few minutes to greet people, staying silent as she usually did, but then disappeared during the service. Sebastian thought, it was probably just because of her being so distressed after losing her only child, but looking back—for the millionth time after she left… he tried to imagine, why she was so distant? Myra was never expressive, even before that. Well, maybe it was because it was just how Myra lived. But it really bothered Sebastian that the woman he’d fallen in love with had gone from a quiet, caring, responsible woman to a distant and uncaring person. Who left him without a second thought.

And the other important question: how was Lily here?

A theory came to him, but it hurt more than the memories he’d been revisiting.

If. If Sebastian understood how he came into this place—if that bathtub thing he saw in the vision of Lily worked the way he thought it did… there was one painful idea that changed everything. If Sebastian had been connected to the same sort of machine, and he was alive, the only logical conclusion was that Lily was also alive. But she didn’t remember anything until now, did she? It was like whoever had put him here wanted him to see Lily, as if holding her back until they (whoever they were) had gotten a hold of Sebastian. Wanted him to find her. There had to be a way to get them both out, in that case. To prove whoever was testing them wrong. He could make up for all those years of lost time, after everything was over.

“Dad?”

Sebastian snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Lily’s voice calling to him. “Hm? Sorry, I was… thinking about something.”

“Oh. You were making faces…”

“Yeah, it’s nothing. How’s your leg now?”

Lily sat up and propped herself against the cushions, glancing down briefly at her bandaged ankle. “Not hurting as much anymore.”

Sebastian sighed in relief, moving up from his position on the floor to perch against the couch beside Lily. “That’s good. I’ll have to replace the bandages soon, though, to keep the cut from getting any worse.”

Suddenly, Lily wrapped her small arms around Sebastian and hugged him tightly. “I—I missed you, Dad… I’m afraid. I don’t want this to stay a dream. This isn’t real… It can’t be. I remember what real was like. But… I’ve been out of it…”

“Lily, shh. It’s alright. We’re here, together now, and that’s the most important thing.” Sebastian held her close with one arm around her and let his other pet her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

Lily said nothing, but continued to cling to her father, a few sobs shaking her small body. They sat there together like that, Sebastian keeping watch over her, trying to calm her down… until after a while, she stopped crying and her quiet sniffles were replaced with the sounds of her soft breathing, as she’d finally fallen asleep after being so exhausted from all of this emotional stress. It really was too much for a kid. Sebastian was just glad she’d held on for so long, but he was more glad that he was there to be absolutely sure she’d be alright. If anyone ever did anything to hurt her again, Sebastian would make them pay.

Gently, carefully, Sebastian let go of Lily and laid her back on the couch so she could get some rest. One hand against her arm, Sebastian slid back to his previous position on the floor and felt himself drifting off, just this once. He kept his other hand near his pistol, though, in the event they needed to make a quick escape. But for now, he wanted to enjoy simply being here with Lily, and maybe convince himself that this was as close to a “normal family” as they’d get for a long while.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what I've been working on between writing the next chapter of Something Close to Family! Will also be quite feelsy so this will be fuuuuuun :D bear with me this is just the intro chapter, I'm still formulating how I want to write the next bit~ I'll try to get something done soon c:


End file.
